How do I remove a product that cannot be uninstalled in the "Add or Remove Programs" list.

Answer

Utility

You should use the MsiZap command line utility that comes with Microsoft Platform SDK. This forcefully removes any and all traces of the installation.

The usage is:

msizap T {product code}

or

msizap T <msi package>
      

Getting the Product Code

You can find the product code by opening the AIP file with a text editor and looking for a line like the following. The Product Code is the GUID included in curly braces (including the braces themselves). Example:

<ROW Property="ProductCode" Value="1033:{9C3B2A82-C7D7-462F-8D98-48A7B6D889D1} "/>
      

To remove this product the following command should be used:

MsiZap T {9C3B2A82-C7D7-462F-8D98-48A7B6D889D1}

If you do not have access to the project file you can retrieve the product code from the MSI database. Open it with any specialized editor (e.g. Orca), go to the "Property" table and locate the ProductCode row.

Details

Detailed information about the MsiZap utility can be found at:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/msi/setup/msizap_exe.asp

If you don't have Platform SDK installed you can download it from:

http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdkupdate/psdk-full.htm